Alfonsino
Overview
Alfonsino is bright red, with a silvery-pink belly a red iris and a deeply forked tail. It has a high oil content and firm white flesh. It can be used in a wide variety of dishes including fish cakes and croquettes. They are ideally suited to baking, shallow frying and grilling. An excellent method of preparation for these species is the Cajun style of marinating or coating the fillets in red chilli, ground cumin and coriander and cooking them over a very high heat. This will create what is known traditionally as the “blackened finfish”—a style that will add to the piquancy of flavour.Redfishes also lend themselves well to the creation of bouillabaisse or to use in braised finfish dishes, with tomato and fennel.They are highly regarded as a major ingredient in fish cakes, quenelles, finfish balls, croquettes or gefilte fish as the flesh has good jelling characteristics, requiring very little binder. Redfishes are ideal for large-scale catering.Try creating a soup combining chopped redfish fillets, watercress, shallots, milk and cream.The Bight redfish is larger than the redfish (Centroberyx affinis), but is equally flavoursome and versatile. Both are quite inexpensive, make excellent eating and are available as plate-size finfish or skinless fillets.